Jun 11, 2008 - 08:17 pm .- After meeting with government officials over previous days, the Vatican delegation visiting Vietnam left Hanoi for the Central Highland province of Da Lat on Wednesday morning. The delegation did not issue an official statement about disputed issues between Vietnamese Catholics and the country’s government.

Jun 11, 2008 - 04:07 pm .- Prominent scholars have accused the National Geographic Society’s 2006 series of articles on the Gospel of Judas of mistranslation, commercial exploitation, and “scholarly malpractice.” A recent essay in the Chronicle Review asserts that the widely publicized reports of the gospel’s portrayal of a “noble Judas,” have been thoroughly challenged by experts who believe the public has been misled.

Jun 11, 2008 - 03:21 pm .- Bishop Jose Sanchez Gonzalez of Siguenza-Guadalajara in Spain said this week the greatest danger and most important reason for rejecting the controversial school course Education for Citizenship is the Socialist government’s intention to use the course for indoctrinating children and young people.

Jun 11, 2008 - 02:52 pm .- A spokesman for Professionals for Ethics in Madrid, Maria Angeles Eyries, said this week the number of parents who have expressed formal objection to the course Education for Citizenship has now reached 10,000.

Jun 11, 2008 - 12:30 pm .- A federal court in Colombia has thrown out a lawsuit to prohibit distribution of the morning-after pill in the country, denying the drug’s abortifacient effect despite testimony by the drug’s manufacturers to the contrary.

Jun 11, 2008 - 11:48 am .- Archbishop Fernando Saenz Lacalle of San Salvador has said the Catholic Church has not approved the alleged apparitions of Mary at the hill of Guazapa, despite claims made by the supposed visionary to a local newspaper.

Jun 11, 2008 - 09:40 am .- Arriving in St Peter's Square to greet a cheering crowd of pilgrims and tourists, Pope Benedict spoke today about St. Columban, an early Irish saint who helped re-evangelise Europe in the early Middle Ages, and can serve as a guide for Europe to return to its Christian roots.

Jun 11, 2008 - 03:42 am .- Archbishop Pietro Sambi, representative of the Pope to the United States, has explained in an interview that Benedict XVI’s successful visit is bearing fruit in the local Church and in has opened the eyes of the secular world.

Jun 11, 2008 - 03:10 am .- A Vatican delegation to Vietnam led by Monsignor Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretariat of State’s undersecretary for relations with states, began its visit in meetings with bishops and priests of Vietnam to discuss the impact of secularism in Vietnam, the intense controversies that have surrounded Church property disputes and the appointment of bishops in the country.

Jun 11, 2008 - 02:12 am .- World Youth Day 2008 organizers, planning a massive barbeque for pilgrims, have placed orders for food supplies for the massive event that will take place this July. About 25 million items have been ordered for the up to 125,000 expected international visitors and 60,000 Australian attendees.